Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Finishing Up and Starting New

4, 3, 2, and 1!!!! That means all of my Modern Building Blocks, Back to Nature edition are done!!! I have been having so much fun putting these blocks together. They have been a great exercise in precise piecing and I just love seeing all of those happy points come together. So here are the 4 big blocks . . . and seriously, these are big. The 2 top ones could be baby blankets ;)

And I don't remember if I ever showed these here, but these are the five 18" blocks. I added the smaller blocks for scale ;)

And lets not forget the 12" blocks.

And the ever so cute 6" blocks!!!

So all that is left is to just sew the blocks into the quilt top. I decided that instead of the standard layout that I wanted to make my quilt a square. So after a bit of sketching and crossing out and reworking, I finally figured out on the 8th try how to make all of the blocks work in a 90" x 90" square with no Y-Seams and only 1 extra 6" block needed. I think I am going to make a 4 patch ;) So hopefully, the next time I show this quilt the top will be all sewn together. So exiting!!!

And of course, as I start to see one project coming to a close, it is time to start a new one!!! Did you all see the announcement of the new APQ Quilt Along on Moda Lissa's blog yesterday?? I totally missed last years and knew right away that I wanted to join in on this one!!!

And I was so excited when I saw that it was 4-Patches!!! You see, I have gone to 5 markets and each time I get some of these adorable Candy Packs. They were really starting to stack up on the shelf and while they looked super cute I felt like it was time to start using them. And then last week a good friend showed me how she does her leaders and enders. Now I have heard that term used a lot but never gave it much thought. Ya, kicking myself for not thinking about it out sooner. So can you see how this is all coming together perfectly . . . Candy, Leaders and Enders, 4 Patches, Perfect!!!!

So last night I threw them all in this little basket, switched on Pride and Prejudice, and started sorting. And before long . . .

I had a stack of empty cardboard backs and paper sleeves and lots and lots of lovely piles!!! Okay, so I know you are going to ask why each color has 3 piles so let me explain. The first row are strictly tone on tone prints. The second row are prints that read a certain color but have other colors mixed in with them. The third row and strictly color/white prints that I have decided to pull out to make another project with. And lastly, the two rows on the bottom are white background prints with lots of colors and low volume prints. Yup, call me crazy, apparently 10 color piles isn't enough for me, I need 30 :)

It was fun to see that the piles from the candy were directly related proportionally to my scraps. No surprise there but interesting none the less. Like always, I have the most Blue, Green, and Grey, a medium amount of Red, Pink, and Black and a small amount of Purple, Yellow, Orange, and Brown ;)

I haven't decided yet what design I want to follow along with for the Quilt-Along and it doesn't actually start until February . . . but I can start making 4 patches now and see where it takes me ;) These will be great leaders and enders while I put the Modern Building Blocks together ;)

And speaking of Quilt Along's . . . check back tomorrow for the first announcement on the Irish Chain Quilt-A-Long!!! I am so excited ;)

love the modern look of the blocks, and the colors really make them look even more modern, it is beautiful!

I am stopping by from the WIP Wednesday post, stop by if you get a chance :) (I finally finished my Star Surround! lol) http://domesticdeficitdisorder.blogspot.com/2015/01/wip-one-where-i-am-back-and-finally-did.html

Holy Leaders and Enders! I just looked up this whole process for the 2'' and just as I am thinking you thought, "WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THIS BEFORE!?" I have heard of the leaders and enders with scraps and throwing them out; however why not make it useful for piecing yet something while you are continuing to sew something else! This will work great for my California Dream'n quilt! So glad you shared with everyone else as I am going to begin doing this IMMEDIATELY.

Aside from that, I am loving the colors and tones in your blocks and how exciting to make it lay out differently than what it calls for. Can't wait to see it! As usual, I am sure it will be awesome... especially with the view of those blocks as is!

You should join us at the Leaders/Enders linky party at A Quilting Chick's blog. Here's the link to this month's linky party: http://aquiltingchick.blogspot.com/2015/01/leadersenders-12015.html. No progress to report on my L/E project this month, because I've been doing actual quilting! Yay!

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